Traditional 3-Season Kit
Comfort-first ~25 lb kit: freestanding tents, framed packs, real camp luxury. Priced live.
For comfort-first trips, new backpackers, and anyone hiking with kids or a partner who wants room to spread out.
Freestanding tents with vestibules, framed and ventilated packs, thick pads and a chair. Heavier, but forgiving, durable and easy to live with.
Still no food, water or fuel in the weight; those are consumables you carry on top of base weight.
Two ways to build it
Every category has a budget pick and a premium pick. Prices are live from the retailers we track and refresh every few minutes; the kit total is the sum of whatever is cheapest right now in each category. Swap any item using the other options under it.
The cheapest live price in each slot from gear that will actually work. Some of it is heavier and some of it will not last as long, and that is the trade: it gets you out the door now instead of next season.
Your tent or tarp. The biggest single weight and cost decision in the kit.
Your tent or tarp. The biggest single weight and cost decision in the kit.
Mongar™ BASE 2-Person Backpacking Tent
Quilt or sleeping bag rated for the coldest night you expect.
Quilt or sleeping bag rated for the coldest night you expect.
Wild Aspen 20™ Degree Sleeping Bags
Insulation from the ground matters as much as the bag; look at R-value, not just thickness.
Insulation from the ground matters as much as the bag; look at R-value, not just thickness.
Klymit Static V Sleeping Pad
Sized to the volume of everything else here. Fit matters more than features.
Sized to the volume of everything else here. Fit matters more than features.
Rock™ Hiking Backpack
Canister stoves are the simple default; the kit assumes you bring your own fuel.
Canister stoves are the simple default; the kit assumes you bring your own fuel.
Titanium Backpacking Stove
One pot is enough for most solo and duo trips.
One pot is enough for most solo and duo trips.
Titanium Cooking Pots
1 other option
- premiumTitanium Pot 1100ml by SOTO Outdoors$44.95view →
Squeeze or gravity filters cover bacteria and protozoa, which is what North American trails need.
Squeeze or gravity filters cover bacteria and protozoa, which is what North American trails need.
2L Squeeze Water Filter System
Rechargeable, light, and bright enough to set up camp after dark.
Rechargeable, light, and bright enough to set up camp after dark.
Comet Rechargeable Headlamp
Optional, but they double as tent poles for many ultralight shelters.
Optional, but they double as tent poles for many ultralight shelters.
Sunlit™ 3-Section Aluminum Trekking Poles
Optional; a small kit you know how to use beats a big one you do not.
Optional; a small kit you know how to use beats a big one you do not.
.7 Medical Kit by Adventure Medical Kits
Optional luxury for the traditional kit.
Optional luxury for the traditional kit.
Chair Zero LT by Helinox
1 other option
- budgetMoonlite Elite Reclining Chair by NEMO Equipment$179.95view →
How we pick
Each category has a short list of gear we would carry ourselves. Within that list the kit picks the lowest live price, so the item in a slot can change from day to day as sales come and go. Weights are the manufacturer's listed weight for the standard size. Base weight is everything you carry except what you wear and consumables: food, water and fuel. The base weight guide has the details.
Clothing is not part of a kit. What you wear is personal and sized, and worn items do not count toward base weight. Trekking poles stay in because many of these shelters pitch with them.
Why these picks
Comfort first. The shelter has a vestibule you can cook under. The pad is thick. The pack has a frame and a ventilated back panel because it will be carrying more. There is a chair, and we make no apology for it. If you hike with kids, in shoulder seasons, or with someone who is not sure they like camping yet, this kit is the one most likely to make the second trip happen.
The weight is higher than the other two kits, and that is the point of it. What we have kept out is anything that only makes sense for car camping. Everything here can be carried a reasonable distance by a reasonably fit adult. The base weight guide explains what the number on this page does and does not include.
Kit price history
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Prices are as seen at source and may change; verify at the retailer. We may earn a commission on purchases.